


The Guy From Apartment 512

by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney



Series: Angsty/Fluffy/Smutty Klance One Shots from Tumblr [12]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkwardness, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 13:24:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14450181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney/pseuds/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney
Summary: Basically I was listening to Selena and I couldn't get this concept out of my head.Lance starts pining after a new neighbor.





	The Guy From Apartment 512

Apartments had always been an engrained part of life. Growing up, Lance lived in apartments in Florida and in Houston. In college, he lived in a dorm hall, then on campus apartments. Now, as a 24 year old adult, he was still living in apartments.

He actually really liked them. It gave him a sense of community he never got from visiting friends with houses of their own. Here everyone knew each other, ran into each other, knew each other’s routine.

Mrs. Garcia two doors down always had a cup of freshly made lemonade on Fridays when Lance got back from his time at the gym. He usually went to wait at the bus stop with the Lopez siblings from upstairs when they went to wait on the school bus while he waited on the city bus. Their father always insisted on thanking him with money, but eventually their mother simply started sending one of the siblings to Lance’s door with a plate of food on weekends.

Everyone knew Lance, and Lance knew everyone. They knew him on the surface, his Cuban roots, his love for music, his flirty personality. And because of it, there was always someone playfully, or even seriously, flirting with him. Either in the lobby or somewhere around the apartments, or in the elevator in the time it took his to reach the fifth floor, any neighbor his age would give him sweet compliments and smirks.

The only time it really made him uncomfortable was when the playful flirting came from older people like Mrs. Herrera from the first floor or Mr. Sanchez from across the hall. It never got too bad, but Lance always tried to find an out when their conversations switched into those more suggestive tones.

One of Lance’s favorites was the girl who lived right by the elevator. Her name was Talia and it was easy to make her blush and she was one of the prettiest girls Lance had ever met. She had large dark eyes and shoulder-length black hair that she always had half up and half down. Her skin matched his own and she had a beauty mark on her cheek that Lance found adorable.

While she was wonderful as a person and neighbor, Lance had never been interested in pursuing more and neither had she. It was just fun to flirt.

“How’s my favorite girl doing today?” Lance asked as he caught her leaving.

“Oh, you know. It’s a Sunday. Just mentally prepping for the week. How about you?”

“Ready to stay in and watch Netflix for the rest of the day,” he answered. She chuckled and nodded. “Where you off to?”

“Grocery shopping.”

Lance nodded and shrugged. “Let me know if you need a strong guy to help you bring stuff up.”

“Oh do you know someone?” she asked. Then she laughed at his hurt expression. “Oh you know I’m kidding, pretty boy.” Lance rolled his eyes and she smiled at him. She kissed his cheek and he smiled. “There you go, all better.” He winked as she started for the elevator and chuckled when she got frustrated and opted for the stairs.

As he started for his own apartment, the elevator finally dinged and Lance turned to playfully chide whoever came out.

His words died the second he saw an Asian-looking guy with a short, low ponytail in a muscle shirt carrying a moving box in his hands. He had a thin frame, but with the exertion of carrying the box, it was evident that he was muscular and strong.

Lance didn’t realize he was staring until the guy’s eyes flickered toward him. Lance couldn’t fully tell what his eye color was, but he was guessing a grayish color, maybe dark blue. Then there was a flickering smile and Lance couldn’t breathe.

He knew he made a sound, but he wasn’t really sure what sound, just that it confused the guy and the next thing Lance knew he was rushing for his own apartment and shutting the door so he could catch his breath without looking like an idiot.

Looking through the peephole, he saw the guy going into apartment 512 at the end of the other side of the hall. One of Lance’s neighbors had just moved out of there because they’d found a house with cheap rent and a large backyard for a dog. He had no idea the apartment had been taken so quickly.

The guy walked back to the elevator, glancing at Lance’s door as he passed without faltering in his step. Lance felt his cheeks heat up. That guy was absolutely stunning.

Lance had never had a particular type, or at least he didn’t think he did. His taste varied depending on guys and girls and much more on the personality. And he wasn’t really sure what type this guy was. It was a hot spring day, and he was lugging boxes, so it made sense for him to be in a muscle shirt, but was he a polo guy? A leather jacket guy? Or maybe a graphic tee kind of dude.

What had he even done when he saw him? He didn’t even say hi! He didn’t offer to help with the boxes or anything. The new guy is going to think Lance is an asshole, but really Lance just… he felt speechless at the sight of him. He was… well, the dream guy. Chiseled face and pretty eyes and muscular and just a smidge shorter than him.

If Lance was going to have any shot, he had to-

Wait. The guy might not even be into guys. It could very well be a very straight man moving in. The last thing he needed was a creepy, awkward neighbor flirting with him. Lance groaned and let his head fall against the door in exasperation.

He had to find a way to fix… whatever weird first impression he left. The question was how to.

He grabbed his phone and immediately texted his friends on their group chat.

_HUNK PIDGE THERES A CUTE GUY IN THE APARTMENT THAT WAS LEFT AND IDK WHAT TO DO I PULLED A STUPID PLS HELP!!!!_

He sat on his couch and stared, waiting for his message to be read and for them to answer.

The first was Pidge.

_What apartment? What’s he look like? What’d you do? Give the full story man!_

Lance grimaced and ran his hand through his hair before Hunk started typing.

_You mean apartment 512? Is that the guy with the ponytail I saw at the moving truck when I left?_

Lance spent the next half hour explaining and trying to figure out what to do to not look like an idiot. He had no idea how to find out if this guy was into other guys or how to even get a cohesive thought around the guy.

_Dude, maybe just ask if he needs help moving in? Besides, if he’s on your floor it won’t be long before everyone ends up mentioning you and how oh so wonderful you are to him and you can see if he’s interested._

Lance narrowed his eyes at Pidge’s sarcasm, but Hunk added another message.

_You have no problem flirting with literally everyone else. What’s so special about this guy? Just do the same._

Lance groaned and rubbed his forehead. It was late in the evening and he figured he’d been in his apartment too long to just go back out there and offer to help. So instead he grabbed a blanket, some chips and a soda, and sat on the couch to watch Netflix.

The next day when Lance left for work, he ran into the guy from 512 as he was coming back, earbuds in his ears and sweaty with hair matted to him as he walked down the hall in jogging gear. Lance held his breath as he walked closer, afraid of making another stupid sound. When 512 noticed someone else in the hallway, he looked up and smiled at Lance as he walked past. Lance managed a meek wave before making a beeline for the stairs. On the fourth floor, he took the elevator.

He cringed the entire way out of the building.

When he got to the restaurant he worked at as a waiter, he saw Pidge at the host stand and quickly walked over to her. “I saw him on the way here and now I feel all loopy.”

“Good morning to you too,” she snorted. “Loopy?”

Lance sighed and waved his hand. “Sorry, Pidge. Morning. And yeah. Like I saw him and I couldn’t think and I haven’t really been able to since. This is so ridiculous. I don’t even know his name.”

“The mysterious guy from apartment 512,” Pidge mused. “It’s a bit long, but okay, we can call him that.” Lance rolled his eyes. “Come on, bud, we got tables to fill.”

“On it.”

To say the least, it was a rough work day. Lance found himself doing a double take at any guy with long enough black hair, and half the time he was spilling something or hitting chairs and tables with his hips. By the end of his shift Lance felt tired and frustrated because there was no way a guy he’d seen for all of five seconds all together could have this effect on him.

“I want to crawl under a rock,” he groaned as he walked Pidge to her car.

“Don’t be so melodramatic. Just say hi to the guy. Wave when you see him. Ask if he’s new to the city, show him around. You know?” She turned to him and patted his shoulder. “Get his name. Baby steps. You’ve got this.”

He hummed and nodded, then he gave her a hug. “I’ll let you know. Drive safe.” She nodded and left as Lance went to wait at the bus stop.

When he got to the apartments, he got into the elevator and leaned against the wall. As the door started to close, someone dashed in and Lance felt his entire body freeze.

It was him. It was the guy from 512. He looked winded, and he had a messenger bag on, while he held a bunch of papers to his chest. Lance gulped and took a deep breath, giving him a tense smile as their eyes met.

Holy shit.

They were… violet. His eyes were violet. Lance had never seen eyes like those in his entire life. He really couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think.

And the guy was talking. Lance shook his head and cleared his throat. “S-sorry, what?”

The guy gave him a small chuckle. “Yeah, it’s Monday alright.”

Oh. Oh God, his voice. Lance felt like he was burning up. “Yeah,” he chuckled nervously. He bit his lip and thought of what Pidge said earlier. “Um, so are you new to the city?”

“Oh no, I’ve lived here all my life. I just moved for cheaper rent, solitary living, and it’s closer to my job.”

“Oh.” Well, there goes that plan. Just as he was going to ask for his name, the elevator dinged, and Lance lost his words. The guy waited and Lance realized he was waiting on him to leave the elevator first, so he did. “Well. Um. Okay. Bye.” Lance turned away and ran his hand through his hair.

“Lance! _A donde tan apurado, guapo?”_ one of his neighbors called. It was a guy a few years older than him named Ricardo. “Come here, I’ve got something I want you to try. Long day at work?”

Lance hid a grimace and turned to look at Ricardo, very painfully aware of the guy from 512 looking at him as he went into his own apartment.

“Yep. Very. Lots of stumbling. What’s up?”

“I made these cookies and I want you to be the first to try them, _prietito._ ” Lance hummed and chuckled as Ricardo brought a cookie to his lips. “Open.”

Lance grabbed the cookie and smiled. “I can feed myself, Ricardo,” he said with a chuckle. His neighbor rolled his eyes and gestured for him to eat. As Lance ate his cookie, he noticed the door to apartment 512 closing with a click.

No name. No date. No way to hang out. Just awkwardness. And Lance had never felt so ridiculously lame since the time he missed the goal at his last soccer game in middle school. And that memory was way too vivid in his mind.

After a few minutes of mindless, boring chatter and dodging flirts with Ricardo, Lance made it back to his own place. He saw his new neighbor again when he went to take out the trash at the same time he seemed to be going to the gym. Or so it seemed with the large duffel bag slung over his shoulders. But there was no interaction there.

For the rest of the week it seemed to be the same routine. Seeing him in the mornings, taking the elevator with him, being unable to actually create a full sentence.

Lance never got his name, but that didn’t stop his mind from concocting dreams about him. He woke up feeling silly and lonely after the first dream. It wasn’t serious, but… he had dreamt that they were hand in hand, snuggling on the couch, watching something that made Lance laugh a lot, and the guy from 512 had given him such a soft, loving look…. Waking up alone just felt so cold and bland after that.

And it wasn’t the only dream he had. Dreams of kissing and dreams of playful dates and even dreams of weird dreamish arguments that escalated like real ones came too. Before long, a month had passed and Lance was left writing shitty poems on sticky notes and doodling eyes on his waiter’s pad, still without a name, and still with no hopes of getting anywhere with the guy.

He was hanging out with Hunk one night, watching a rom com that Pidge insisted on. But it only made Lance feel worse. Because in those movies the awkwardness was cute and it led to a cute relationship and there were cute kisses with so much affection it actually made Lance’s heart clench.

Flirting was fun. And it was fun to be fawned over, and it was fun to like other people. But now, Lance was so zeroed in on this nameless neighbor and… he had absolutely no idea what to do. He spent his free time thinking about his smile whenever they passed each other in the hall. He daydreamed about his voice when all he had to go off of were simple greetings like “How are you?” and “Can’t wait for the weekend,” or “See you tomorrow.”

He stood up when the movie was mid-pining and went to get a pint of chocolate ice cream he had in Hunk’s freezer. He returned and plopped on the ground, stuffing a spoonful in his mouth.

“Are you really still pining over this nameless guy from 512?” Hunk asked. Lance looked at him and squinted. “Dude, do you even know his name?”

“No.”

“He’s pretty secluded, huh? I don’t think anyone in the complex knows his name really.”

Pidge patted Lance on the back and ruffled his hair. “Lance, I’m gonna be real with you for a bit, okay?” Lance looked at her with his mouth full of chocolate ice cream. “You have it so easy with people. You’re charismatic and people are drawn to you. You had fun with the flirting because people flirted back but it was never serious and you were safe from getting hurt.” Lance frowned as she talked. “Now you’re actually into someone, and someone you don’t really know, so half your stuff on him is probably made up in your head.”

“Or coming from your dreams,” Hunk added.

“So, if you really want to have a chance with this guy, I suggest you grow a pair and just tell him you’re interested.”

“What if he’s not even into guys?” Lance pointed out.

Pidge sighed and sat by him. “Lance, here’s the outcomes you can get: he’s into guys and you get a chance with him by taking a step, he’s not into guys and he just lets you know he’s not interested, or he’s an asshole and freaks out about you being into him in which case he’s not worth it.” She leaned in and took the ice cream away. “But you’re not getting anywhere sitting here eating ice cream or dazing off at work.”

“I’m with Pidge, Lance,” Hunk said. “I think you just need to let this guy know that you think he’s cute, that you want to know his name, and if he’s interested, you guys can go for coffee or a movie. If not, then we’ll give you a bunch of ice cream and help you move on to someone who does want a chance.”

Lance huffed. They made it sound so easy, but it wasn’t. Still, he was tired of the dreams and the awkwardness, and the panic he felt every time he was near the guy from 512. “Yeah, I guess you’re both right….” He shrugged and reached for his ice cream. “I will. I just have to figure out how.”

Pidge and Hunk shared a look and sat on either side of him, leaning into his shoulders for comfort.

Later that night, Lance made his way down the stairs to his floor and mused over what his friends told him. And they were right. If the guy were a girl, Lance wouldn’t feel so bad about going to tell them he was interested. And if the guy got all weird about it, then… it’d be awkward… but it wasn’t like they talked much to start with. And if he was cool about it, they could be friends….

Lance found himself staring at the number 512 with sweaty palms and a pounding heart. It wasn’t too late, and it was a weekend, so the guy was probably still awake… and if not… well, Lance wasn’t sure when he’d have this courage again. Even as it was, he was already losing it.

So he lifted his fist and knocked, feeling chills through his body and a flip in his stomach.

The door opened and Lance felt his stomach drop as a new guy came into view. A much taller, much buffer Asian guy with a white streak in his hair and a scary looking scar along his nose. He was shirtless and Lance suddenly couldn’t find his voice.

He had completely overlooked the idea that this very attractive guy in 512 could very well not be single. And for some reason having some guy open the door, a guy who looked so different from himself, only managed to make him feel like his heart was breaking.

“Uh. Sorry. I-I-”

The guy gave him a confused look before giving him a smile. “Were you looking for my brother?”

Lance blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. “Um… your… brother?”

A voice came forward saying, “Shiro, who’s at the do- oh. Hi. Lance, right?” Lance gulped and nodded.

“I’ll be setting up my couch.” The guy- Shiro- walked away and Keith stepped out into the hall with Lance.

“You know my name?” Lance managed to ask.

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Everyone here knows you and they’re always talking about you.”

“Oh.” Lance cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. “So that’s your brother?”

He nodded and gestured to the door. “Yeah he came to visit me for the weekend before he goes on a business trip in Japan.”

Lance nodded and kicked at the ground. “So…. Um… I never got your name.”

“I’m Keith. Nice to finally introduce myself after a month of moving in.”

Lance winced and nodded. “I’m sorry. I just… I sort of… panicked.” Keith raised a questioning eyebrow. “Um…. Well…. Okay, so the thing is… when I first saw you… I guess… I sort of… got a crush- God that sounds so juvenile, um wait-”

“Whoa, hey,” Keith interrupted, getting Lance’s attention from the floor back to himself. “You… have a crush on me?”

Lance grimaced. “Well… yeah. But I get it if you’re not into guys or something, I can totally just-”

“Lance, man, hey!” Keith interrupted again waving his hands and laughing softly. “Look, I… I thought you hated me or something.”

“What?”

Keith ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean I always see you talking to the neighbors, but whenever I talked to you, you seemed distant. I figured… you just didn’t like me. I didn’t think you had a crush on me.” Lance looked around nervously and shrugged. “I guess in retrospect that makes a little more sense.”

“Well, you’re kind of gorgeous, so….”

Keith tried to bite back a smile and Lance felt his face heat up at the same time Keith’s cheeks and the tip of ears turned red. After a moment of awkward silence and nervous smiles, Keith shrugged. “If it matters… I’m single. And I do like guys.” Lance tried to catch his breath, tried to get his thoughts in order. “And I’m pretty into you too,” he added softly.

Lance let out a weird little gasping noise and laughed nervously. “Oh…. Uh. Um. Well…. Okay, do you, maybe… want to go for coffee tomorrow morning after your run?”

Keith smiled and bit his lip. “Yeah, that’d be… really nice.”

“Okay. Sweet. Cool. Great.”

“Awesome.”

Lance laughed and scratched his head nervously. “Okay… I’ll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight.”

Keith nodded and gave him a wave as he opened the door to the apartment and went back inside. As the door shut, Lance let out a relieved breath and smiled. He had a date with the guy from apartment 512.


End file.
